Remember
by JezaBel-Kai
Summary: The clouds today were beautiful, all white and fluffy and that one looked a unicorn, and there's a turtle. The flowers were all in full bloom, the grass had never been greener, and the best part was, it was silent. To eight year old Anna this was paradise.


The clouds today were beautiful, all white and fluffy and that one looked a unicorn, and there's a turtle. The flowers were all in full bloom, the grass had never been greener, and the best part was, it was silent. To eight year old Anna this was paradise. Out here she could actually think, none of the bustling noise of the manor. No needless chatter and useless noise, no maids, no minstrels, and best of all no nobles. Anna hated the nobles, always watching her every move, never giving her any space. She sighed as she sat in her favorite tree and looked up at the sky, which was one of her favorite things to do.  
"Stop!" she heard someone yell, not too far away. Just close your eyes and pretend they are not there, they can t see you anyway, she told herself. Suddenly she heard leaves rustling next to her, as the branch she was on moved slightly she sat up in surprise. A hand clamped over her mouth and someone pulled her up close, to make sure she wouldn t fall. "Shhh" he whispered. He scrunched them up tighter as guard ran by the tree, armor clanking. As soon as the noise had faded away, whoever had her took his hand off her mouth, but kept her held up close.  
"You re not going to fall if I let you go, are you?" he asked in a pleasing tone. Anna bet he would be a wonderful singer when he got older, another thing she really loved was singing. Her mother sang to her every night.  
"Of course I won t fall. Are you crazy? What are you doing? Were the guards after you? Why?" She asked him, pulling away and inching away from him farther out onto the branch. She wasn t scared, though she knew she should be.  
"Some people think I'm crazy, yes, and also yes to the guards are after me." he said, as he swung off of the branch onto the ground.  
"Why were the guards after you?" she asked inching closer to him this time. She was curious, but realized she just wanted to hear his voice, and found herself once again wondering what his singing voice would be like.  
"What would you do if I told you I murdered someone?" he asked her.  
"I wouldn t believe you. You don t look old enough to murder anyone." She meant what she said. He wasn t much taller than her, thin, with golden colored hair, and wide blue eyes. He was wearing a too big white shirt tucked into tight fitting black riding pants. He looked like a common trouble maker, not a criminal.  
"Okay, what about a petty thief, or a run-away servant?" he asked holding up his arms, "Would you like me to help you down? Anna swung her legs down, dropped herself to the ground, landing on her feet, as she always did and straightened out her purple gown, the one she always wore when she went out to her tree. "I guess I'd believe you. If you were a servant at the palace you would have nice clothing like that. And you could easily get it if you were a thief. Although, there is something about you that makes me think you re not just a plain-old everyday servant." Anna started walking, adjusting her hat so the sun wouldn t get in her eyes.  
"Hey! Where are you going?" He asked, running after her.  
"I'm going home, of course. My mother will start to worry if I do not get home soon. She doesn t allow me out often and if I don t get home on time I won t get to go out again for a while. Mother would be furious with me if she knew I talked to a strange boy who was running from the royal guards, hidden up in a tree."  
"Well that she won t know unless you tell her. By the way, why where you in the tree?" he stopped and picked a tulip from the side of the road.  
"Ummm... well... That's none of your business" She stuttered. What should she say? How could she explain why she was in a tree? Eight year old noble female climbing trees like a commoner boy, no one would understand.  
"Alright. Don t tell me; after all I am a strange boy. Right?" he asked catching up to her once again.  
"Right" Why was she still talking to him? She even found herself walking slower than she should have been.  
"Why are you still talking to me then?" he asked her, making her stop where she was. She gave him a strange look.  
"I don t know." she said slowly, "Probably because I rarely ever get to talk to people, and I find you interesting." Now he had stopped walking, they stood, staring up at the sky.  
"Well... Yeah. Got to go" she rambled and started walking again, faster this time. She wasn t used to talking to anyone, yet alone a boy of her age. Most of the people she talked to were years older than her. She had even been told that she seemed too mature to be eight, and this boy also seemed older than eight, maybe he was ten, or eleven.  
"Can't you come and play? Me and my brothers would love to have another person to play with." he said catching up to her easily. She appeared to be thinking about it.  
"Well. I never do get to play. So I very much would like to, but mother is expecting me home any moment now. I don t want be late. I'm sorry." she said. She really wished she could go play. She had never wanted to be a regular eight year old girl more than she wanted to now. But if she gave into the temptation her mother would be so mad and wouldn t let her outside again for weeks, she couldn t risk that if she wanted to have a chance to go play with this new friend of hers.  
"Alright, well, how about tomorrow then? Meet at the same tree, whenever you can get out" he asked, handing her a tulip he had picked from the side of the road. She took it and carefully sniffed it, a lot of flowers made her sneeze when she smelled them.  
"Alright. I'll be there."  
"Promise?" he asked, holding out his hand to her.  
"Promise" she said, taking his hand. They shook on it and both ran off in different directions. Anna towards her manor, with a smile on her face and a tulip carefully tucked into her hair, and the boy towards the village, also with a smile on his face, both thinking about the new friend they just made.

"Mother! I'm home!" Anna yelled as she walked through the double front doors. Immediately a maid came in to take muddy shoes and wash them for her, giving her a pair of clean slippers so her feet wouldn t get cold.  
"Where have you been? I was scared out of my mind when Elizabeth came home without you, again. She was crying about how you shook her off your trail. Your eight years old for heaven s sake! You could have been kidnapped, or MURDERED!" her mother yelled, doing her usual theatrics. She always acted this way when Anna came home alone.  
"Oh mother! I'm so sorry I worried you. I promise it won t happen again." Anna said calmly taking her mother by the arm and walking her into the sun room, where a maid brought her mother her tea, and Anna her favorite, milk with honey.  
"I guess I just can't let you go out anymore. I even compromised with you, letting you take only Elizabeth, and not an older maid and guards. It won t happen again." Anna's mother wailed, sagging in her chair.  
"But mother! I promise, no matter what that it will not happen again. I didn t even mean to lose Elizabeth; I always forget how slow she is. I'll not run anymore. I love Elizabeth, you know this, and she is my closest friend. Why would I try to get away from her?" Anna protested, sipping her milk and honey, trying not to throw an eight year old fit, like she wanted to. Screaming and yelling, and whining. It would get her nowhere. Her mother studied her over her cup of tea, squinting her eyes, as she always does, she couldn t see well without her glasses.  
"Alright then, if it happens even one more time then you will not be allowed out without proper guards, to make sure you don t run off anymore." She said, rubbing her temples, trying to will away her headache.  
"Mother, you wouldn t get those terrible headaches if you would wear the glasses Father got you." Anna said, moving to from her chair to the floor so she could lean up against her mother s legs.  
"You know those make me look old, I will not wear them. I'll just have Edna make me a cup of her special tea; the headaches have worsened since I got out of the habit of drinking that tea." She said leaning back and squinting out the window.  
"Mother, you don t look old. You never will look old." Anna wrapped her mother s gown around her and snuggled back more. She knew that her mother could never get old. She was the most beautiful woman in the world. Her hair was the color of sunlight, curling all the way down her back, her eyes were almost a cat-eye green, she was tall, and regal, there was always a smile on her face, except for the times Anna worried her. Anna looked up to her mother and wanted to be exactly like her. She smiled up at her mother and her mother smiled back. It was true that sometimes Anna got mad that her parents for cooping her up and not letting her play that much, but she loved her parents and knew that she needed to be good. "Anna?" she turned when she heard her father s voice.  
"We are in hear dear." her mother called back to him. They were silent as they listened to his footsteps getting louder and closer. As soon as her father came into sight Anna launched herself at him.  
"DADDY!" She yelled as he caught her and swirled her around, both of them laughing.  
"Princess!" How good it is to see you again." he said, pulling a box out of his travel bag, "Here you go, princess, thought you might be missing this." "Kitty!" Anna laughed as she pulled her favorite teddy bear out of the box ad hugging it. She always snuck him in her father s bag before he went away.  
"Kitty did a good job of keeping me company, again. I never feel lonely when he is with, and I got his eye fixed for you. He'll be here for a while this time; we don t need to go out again until fall." As brother to the king, he had to go out every season to collect taxes, and to observe the villages, deciding when and where repairs needed to be done. Her father set her down while he was talking and went over to her mother.  
"Dear, where are your glasses?" he asked, taking her hands.  
"Ummm. Well, you know how I feel about them" she said, waving her hand in the air, showing that she didn t care.  
"I think you re beautiful no matter what. Put them on, and save yourself those head splitting headaches." he started rubbing her temples for her, "Let s go to Edna, and I'll have Meredith bring you your glasses. Now Anna, I heard about your stunt today, why don t you go apologize to Elizabeth, and then go help William in the garden, he's been missing you, though he'll never admit it."  
"Yes, father" Anna said giggling. William always acted like he didn t care about anything, but after him and her father get home he goes straight to his personal garden, and has her father send for her.

Anna found Elizabeth in her room, sorting through her clothes and mending the ones with holes, tears still running down her cheeks.  
"Oh Elizabeth! I'm so sorry! I didn t mean to make you cry." Anna said, hugging Elizabeth, "Forgive me?"  
"Of course! I just get so worried! Please don t run from me anymore!" Elizabeth cried.  
"I won t. I promise. You re just so slow! I'll make it up to you. How about we have a tea party later, I'll let you wear that dress you really like. I know it'll fit you." Anna knew it would fit Elizabeth because she had it specially made to fit her. It was Anna's birthday gift to Elizabeth. Her birthday wasn't until next month, but if Anna gave it to her today, Elizabeth would have something to wear to her surprise birthday party Anna was planning for her. Elizabeth was really her dearest friend and more like a sister. "Alright" Elizabeth agreed, and finally stopped crying. She sniffed and wiped her nose with the piece of wool that the maids used for handkerchiefs. Anna reminded herself to get the maids all silk handkerchiefs for their birthdays, monogramed with their initials so they couldn t lose them.  
"Well, William needs me in the garden, so I'll be there." Anna said getting up and making her way to the door.  
"William? He's back?" Elizabeth's voice perked up at once. Elizabeth was 12, William was 14, and Elizabeth had had a crush on him since she was Anna's age, though she complained to Anna that he didn t even know she existed. Which Anna knew for a fact that he did. He was helping Anna plan the birthday party.  
"He and father just got home, not too long ago. Would you like to come down and help us in the garden?" Anna asked standing in the doorway. Elizabeth blushed and shook her head.  
"I've got plenty to do up here" She held up her sewing, which Anna knew Elizabeth hated.  
"Alright. Your choice. I'll be back later." Anna turned and ran down the hall. When she got to the staircase, she made sure no one was watching and slid down the banister. She and Elizabeth loved to do that.  
I saw that her father yelled from his study. She laughed, father always caught her. When she got down the stairs she ran out into the yard. William s personal garden was in the middle of the hedge maze that was grown around a big willow tree. Anna's parents had always told her that this willow was rare, that willows only grow around water, and here there was no water. They also told her that the tree appeared; small, without any leaves, on the day she was born, and had grown faster than normal trees ever since then. They always told her that it meant something special was going to happen to her, so they grew a hedge maze around it. Her old nurse maid told her once that the tree was her spirit and the maze was her life. She never really understood those words, but ever since that day, she always felt a tingle when she walked between the hedges. She loved the feeling.  
"Anna? Is that you?" Anna heard William calling out to her. William had the sharpest ears of their whole family.  
"Yes, William." Anna called back, picking up her pace. Her and William knew this maze better than anyone else, so Anna was soon next to her brother. He was on his knees next to the plant bed, pulling weeds out of the ground, his pants were rolled up above his knees so they wouldn t get dirty, his shirt and jacket were laying folded next to the tree trunk. Anna looked up at the manor house that was towering above the maze, and in her bedroom window she saw a figure, standing looking out. Anna had thought that as soon as she left Elizabeth would be at that window looking or William, and then wouldn t take her eyes off him until she was forced to, and Anna had just been proven right.  
"Brother, you know Elizabeth is staring out the window at you right now. Maybe you should go talk to her when we are done." Anna said while plopping down in the grass. Pulling weeds took more energy than most people would think.  
"I don t need to talk to her." William said, "I know why she is staring. I don t mind."  
"But. She likes you right? That means she wants you to talk to her, and if you don t like her you should tell her, right?" Her parents told her it was normal for people William and Elizabeth s age to develop crushes, but Anna didn t understand. How could they like each other when they show no affection for each other? Elizabeth looks like a tomato whenever William's name comes up, she practically faints when she's around him. William acts as if he barely knows her.  
"I said I don t need to talk to her. I've made up my mind. In four years, I'm going to marry her." he said, as if nothing at all was going on. It was strange even to an eight year old.  
"She'll love that. You know, we are having a tea party later. It'll be so much fun. And that is where I am going to give her the dress, that way she can wear it to her party. She'll feel like a princess!" Anna was excited. She loved parties.  
"That s a good plan. She'll look beautiful in that dress. Just make sure you don t tell her about the party. She needs to be surprised." William glanced up into the window, then back down at the weeds.  
"I know, William." Anna said. And they spent the next hour in silence, like they usually did, while they pulled weeds and tended the flowers. Anna daydreamed about the party, and decided she needed to go to town the next day to buy a tiara for Elizabeth, to complete the princess feeling. That night Anna slept well. She and Elizabeth had laughed for hours at their tea party, Elizabeth loved the dress and it fit her perfectly, just like Anna knew it would. Elizabeth was thrilled when Anna told her that it was now hers, and agreed to wear it on her birthday.

"But Anna, you know your mother wouldn t want us to go so far off the road!" Elizabeth protested as they walked farther away from the road.  
"Elizabeth, don t be a baby, we are barely off the road at all. We are only going to that row of trees over there. The tallest tree, actually." Anna reassured her and kept walking. She kept checking up in the tree though she knew that she wouldn't be able to see him if he was up there anyway. Suddenly the leaves rustled and a boy s head appeared. He was hanging upside down on the tree branch, by his legs.  
"You came!" he yelled laughing. Anna also started to laugh and ran over to the tree. Suddenly two more heads popped out, both boys were the same age around Anna's, one with short black hair and one with long brown hair, braided loosely. They all swung down.  
"Who are you all? Anna seemed to fail to mention she was meeting people here." Elizabeth frowned. "Well, I'm Alexander" the oldest one, who was the first one that Anna had met, spoke, "He's Nikolas" the black haired one," and he's Nathan" the one with the long brown hair.  
"And who are you?" Nikolas asked, frowning back at Elizabeth.  
"I am Anna, and that is my best friend Elizabeth" Anna said, smiling at them both and trying to get them to smile back.  
"Alright. Anna. Wanna go to the mud pits?" Alexander asked, already running towards the path. Anna laughed and ran after.  
"Mud? But brother! You know how I hate mud!" Nathan yelled after them.  
Soon they were all laughing and splashing each other, having fun, even Nathan and Elizabeth were rolling in the mud laughing. Alexander taught Anna and Elizabeth how to play tag, and they played for hours, until it was getting late. Then they all ran laughing to the stream to wash off. Nathan tackled Nikolas into the stream, nocking Elizabeth in with them. They all sat in the stream laughing. Then finally they all laid on the grass and stared up at the sky while they dried off. The next couple of months went the same way for Anna and Elizabeth. Except for Elizabeth's 13 birthday which came and went. That day they had to stay home all day so that Anna could get everything ready. Elizabeth was thrilled with her birthday party and with her birthday presents. She even got three presents from the boys, though they couldn t make it to her party. And then, the day after her party she thanked them and everything went back to normal. Every day they met at the same tree, and always went and did something fun, sometimes they even had to sneak out. William also came with a lot as the months passed, he said it was to keep an eye on her, but she often found him staring at Elizabeth.

"What shall we do tomorrow?" Anna asked, as they laid in a pile of leaves that had just started to fall off the trees.  
"Anna. Hasn t Alex told you? We will be leaving tomorrow." Nikolas told her, "Today is our last day together."  
"What? But, why didn t anyone tell me?" Anna felt like she was going to cry. The boys all shook their heads.  
"We forgot. Father just reminded us yesterday." Nathan said.  
"I sort of hoped that he would change his mind, and we could stay here." Alexander said.  
"Well, why do you have to leave? It seems kind of dumb." Anna was angry that they hadn t told her.  
"We have to go home. Right now we are staying in our summer home, we have already stayed here longer than we normally do." Anna started to cry.  
"Don t be such a girl" Nikolas told her, like he had all summer, whenever she started to cry, earning him a glare. She had heard it a thousand times since they had met, but this time it just made her cry harder. They finally all surrounded her giving her hugs, Nathan had also started crying. When it was time for them to go that night she stopped them and gave each of them one of her favorite things. Alexander got her favorite necklace, Nathan got her favorite hair bow, and Nikolas got her favorite pin. In return Nikolas gave her a new teddy bear, Nathan gave her the piece of ribbon he always had tied around his throat, and Alexander gave her his ring, which was too big and hanging on a chain.

That next summer a war started between her country and the one next to it. Anna's father, as brother to the king was required to go to his brother and train the troops. Two years later a treaty was developed and singed by the rulers of both countries, Anna's father and brother got to come home, foreign troops were pulled out of each country. But it was a trick, the other country attacked. A direct attack on noble s homes, killing the nobles, rounding up maids and servants to sell in their own country, burning everything. William stared in horror at the flames. He and Elizabeth were huddled in a corner, waiting for the men to pass.  
"I must find Anna. I'll get you to the stables, get on a horse and ride as fast as you can in to the forest. Meet at our usual spot. I'll bring as many as I can. GO!" William said to Elizabeth, pushing her through the hall towards the stables.  
"NO! MOTHER!" they spun around at the voice. It was Anna. Without thinking they both rushed to the sunroom, where they found Anna crying over her mother's body. She was laying on the floor a sword through her heart, pinning her to the floor. William saw two men coming at her, but before he could react, the little ten year old girl, who had always been frail, grabbed the sword from her mother s body, yelled, swinging it around, slashing right through one guys throat, blood sprayed everywhere, yet she advanced on the next guy, stabbing him in the foot, then putting the sword through his stomach. William and Elizabeth stood frozen in amazement. No one notice the third guy coming up behind her, too late Anna heard his footsteps and spun around, getting slashed in stomach. William ran yelling at him, beheading him in one swing. The guys sick smile was still plastered to his face as his head hit the floor and rolled. William kneeled on the floor next to Anna and his mother. Sadistically Anna was still awake and aware. She could still feel the pain and still knew she was dying. Even over the crackle of the fire, William heard the sound of troops marching, he scooped up his dying sister, grabbed Elizabeth s hand and ran, pulling her down hallways and out towards the gardens. He sagged in relief as he spied the troops. They were on his side, they had heard news of the attack, but still gotten there too late. All the enemy troops were still there and soon the sounds of fighting was added to the chaos.  
"Elizabeth. I need you to bring her to Tolsdale. Bring her to the wise woman there, she's the only one capable of saving her. Please." William told her as he led the horse with the two girls on it out.  
"William, William listen to me. She is gone." Elizabeth cried staring at her best friends pale face. Anna was no longer breathing. She was dead. William shook his head.  
"Then bring her there. Where all the others go. Where so many more will be going." William said, speaking of the town in the next country where the nobles and there servant go to be buried on holy land. Elizabeth nodded, still crying, as William ran back to join the fighting. Elizabeth was glad they were close to the border and it was only a few hour journey, but when the time came, she couldn t let go of her best friends lifeless body.

"Your Majesty. We wish to leave our people here, until this war is settled. So many people are homeless, with the enemy stalking the countryside. We wish for no more innocents to be ruthlessly murdered." William announced to the king of Tolsdale.  
"You know I did not wish to be brought into this war. Our country is a peaceful one, we do not engage in war for just any reason." the King replied.  
"We do not wish for you to engage in battle. We just wish for a safe place to keep our families. We will have troops posted at the borders, obviously on our side. We will provide food and money for our people, but they need shelter." William stated. They were the Kings Audience chamber. With the royals, nobles, and ministers, everyone of status was there watching, waiting to see what the king would do about this incontinence.  
"Why of all people did they send you? You are a child." The king asked William.  
"My family was attacked in the middle of the night. They killed my mother and my ten year old little sister. The damned creature had a smile on his face as he killed Anna. My father and my uncle couldn t come due to the war." As he said this he heard a gasp from behind the King's throne. "Anna is dead?" came a small voice from behind the king s throne.  
"Boys, come out. Didn t I tell you to stay in your rooms?" the king said as three boys came out from behind his throne. Thirteen year old with blond hair, a eleven year old with black hair, and an twelve year old with brown hair.  
"Anna is dead?" Nathan asked again. William looked away; he couldn t stand the looks on their faces.  
"William. Is she dead?" Alexander asked him, putting his hand on William's shoulder and shaking him.  
"Yes. She died in Elizabeth's arms." William swallowed. He did not want to cry in front of the king and the princes. The boys were stunned. Christopher teared up. The king studied his sons.  
"Very well. Bring your people, but I will not get caught up in this. If your country fails, I will give all those within these borders the choice to go back or to become citizens of this country." The King said standing up, signaling that the meeting was over and no one could argue with his decision.

Mary-Ann sat straight up in bed, clutching her stomach. She had dreamt of blood and dying again. The dream was so chaotic she could never remember what it had been about after she woke. She only ever remembered the pain of a sword to her stomach and chest. Her maid, Edna, told her that these dreams were nothing, and they were not real, yet she never looked convincing enough to be telling the truth. Mary-Ann got up off of her bed and walked over to mirror; she dropped her dressing gown to the floor and ran her fingers over the scar that ran from her right hip up to her left shoulder. She wondered once again why she couldn t remember how she got the scar and why she couldn t remember anything from her life before. The mistress of the house, sister to the king, had found her when she was ten. Mary-Ann remembered nothing but waking up to the beautiful face of the mistress.  
Husband, she is ours, our Mary-Ann that we have always hoped for. The woman said looking over to her husband. He smiled and nodded his head at his wife, then went back to reading. Her smile got even brighter as she looked down at me.  
Welcome to your new home, and your new life, my daughter. The woman said, helping me sit up, pain shot through my stomach and chest. I looked down to see a bandages wrapped around my whole upper body, blood slowly seeping through in spots. I could feel the stitches and the places that were healing. My head swam as I got up. An old woman brought me a cup of tea to drink; I took a sip, and then downed the whole cup when I realized how thirsty I was. The tea instantly eased the pain until it was a dull ache and I could breathe again without hassle. The taste had been sweet, and vaguely familiar.  
I m afraid that you will not be able to be up and walking around for a very long time. Edna has just nursed you back from near death. It could take months for you to heal well enough to move around. Be patient my daughter. The woman said, patting me on the arm. She had to help me eat the food that Edna had prepared for me, telling me a story until I fell back to sleep.

Mary-Ann! Are you up yet? Sue banged on the door.  
Yes, Mary-Sue, I am up. Mary-Ann said, putting her dressing gown back on and unlocking her door. Mary-Ann was one of the only people in the house that could stand Mary-Sue. She was the mistress s cousin and had come to live with them shortly after Mary-Ann had woke up again. Mary-Sue was older and acted like the world hated her, but Mary-Ann knew that she had many soft spots.  
A young woman locking her door!? Unheard of in my day. How do we know you haven t had any boys in here? Mary-Sue said, barging into the room, Your adoring mother says good morning, and that she is sorry she will not be able to take breakfast with you this morning. You are to get up, get dressed and at noon meet her at the gates to the castle. His Majesty will be meeting with you all then. She also says to behave. I say you don t behave and I ll beat your a- Mary-Sue! How nice of you to wake Ann for me. Will ya kindly go wake Mary-Lynn? Edna said from the doorway I ll be done with Ann in just a second, tell Mary-Lynn to pick out what she wants ta wear today. Edna was only a maid, but when she told someone to do something, they did it. No matter whom it was. There was just something about Edna that made you not want to disappoint her. That held true to Mary-Sue also, although she grumbled about it, she still went off to wake Mary-Lynn. Edna walked over to Mary-Ann.  
Please tell Mary-Sue and mother that I am not feeling well today, and would like to spend the day in bed. Mary-Ann said.  
Oh no ya don t, ya ain t foolin me missy. Edna said, pushing Mary-Ann out the door, I got ya a nice an hot bath awaitin you. Though I should let Lynn go first, huh? Ya just gonna sneak out and get ya self dirty again. Nevermind. Ya go on and get dressed. Go to the market and get me two eggs. Edna reversed them, sending Mary-Ann back to her room. Mary-Ann pulled on her riding trousers and put on a simple skirt over them, she threw on one of the master s old long sleeved shirts and put a plain brown bodice over it. She locked her doors and swung her foot out her window. Just because Edna told her to go didn t mean Mary-Sue wouldn t just drag her back in. Mary-Ann, dropped from the window onto the roof, and climbed down the side of the house, landing softly on the ground. She snuck around the house to the stables, quickly saddling up her chestnut mare, Luna. She led Luna out of the stables and towards town, bringing her from a solid trot to a full out run. Mary-Ann loved riding, it was something she did every morning after she woke up and every night before bed.  
It was only four hours after dawn, but the market was already full of bustling people starting out their day. Mary-Ann roped her horse up at the edge of the market and walked over to her favorite shop.  
Mary-Ann, how good it is to see you. What can we do for you this morning? Tue, the shopkeeper asked. He was a middle aged man, heavy and balding, but he had a good sense of humor and was always happy.  
Oh, I m just looking. I think I would like to buy some of that jasmine bath soap again though. Mother loved it, and also something for Mary-Sue. She s going to be mad when she finds me gone. I need a sorry gift. Mary-Ann laughed. She looked through the scents.  
Here you are. Mary-Sue will love the lavender and laundry bath soap. It leaves the skin softer than you d believe. Tue said handing her the bundle. She paid and let, waving over her shoulder as she went. Next she went to the bakery; Mary-Lynn just adored the cinnamon rolls the baker made so she bought five. She went to get the eggs next. She bought a dozen eggs instead of just two. Mary-Ann packed the stuff into her saddle bags and led her horse over to a patch of trees, roped Luna up to a tree.  
She lifted herself up to the first branch of the tree and leaned back, slowly chewing on her cinnamon roll. She sighed, staring out at the sky.  
Hey The branch next to her moved as a guy dropped down on it, from farther up in the tree, What are you doing up here? he asked.  
What are you doing up here? Mary-Ann asked, startled. He laughed.  
Fair enough. He said, sitting down on the branch, his legs hanging over. There was something about this guy that was familiar. His voice was beautiful; she loved to hear him talk. Something about this situation was familiar. She just couldn t remember, but she felt like she d been here before. She tore her cinnamon roll in half and handed half of it to him; she put her legs over the tree branch and jumped down. Where are you going? the guy said, jumping down after her.  
Going home of course. Mother will be mad at me when she learns that I am not home. And if she heard I stopped to talk to some strange guy, she would be very upset with me. Mary-Ann said, walking to her horse.  
So, you can t talk to me, huh? He said, following her. She got up on her horse. She nodded.  
Cause I m some strange guy, right? he grabbed the horse s reins, smiling up at her.  
Do I know you? She asked him, tilting her head at him. He seemed so familiar to her and it was making her confused and a little mad.  
I don t think so, although, you are so familiar to me. Before you leave, at least tell me your name. I m Alexander he said, leaning into the horse.  
Mary-Ann. My maid calls me Ann, or Anna. She told him. He let her horse go and she left, looking back at him. He was standing there, staring after her. "Anna! Wait!" He called running down the road after her.  
"Want to get out of here?" he yelled, "I wanna show you something." She reined in her horse, trotting back to him.  
"Mother will kill me. We have a very important meeting tonight." She said, wanting to go with him.  
"It won t take long" he whistled and a black horse trotted out of the trees, he hopped on without even stopping the horse, "Come on. You'll love it." He nudged his horse the opposite way she had been going. She shook her head and followed him, wondering what in the world was going through her head.  
"Try to keep up" he teased as they cleared the trees. He prompted his horse to a run. Anna Laughed and followed him, waving at him and winking as she passed him, they both laughed harder.

Mary-Ann! Where have you been? You have an hour to get ready. Let s go! Mary-Sue yelled as Mary-Ann walked in the house. Mary-Ann ran up to her room, threw her muddy shoes in her closet, and ran to the bath. The water was steaming as she put a few rose scented bath salts into the water which turned a murky red-purple color. She sat in the bath for a few minutes, then washed her hair and got out. She wrapped herself in her dressing gown and went into her room where Edna was waiting for her. Edna had pulled out a light purple gown with a dark purple sash; light pink flowers bordered the hem. She dried off and pulled on her under clothes. She walked over to Edna and put her arms up above her head.  
I m all yours Mary-Ann said as Edna starting putting her corset on her. Mary-Ann grunted as Edna tightened the corset.  
Don t kill me. I do need to breathe still. She said, leaning against the wall. Edna laughed and slipped the gown over Mary-Ann s head. Next Edna made Mary-Ann sit down while she put her hair up. Edna braided it into a crown around Mary-Ann s head weaving her hair around a tiara with purple and pink jewels in it, taking the remaining hair and curling it, the putting it up into a loose messy bun in back, leaving some hair out curling around her face. Mary-Ann never wore any other jewelry than the necklace she always had on. It was a simple chain, with a man s ring hanging on it. It was too big for any of her fingers, even her thumb. The ring had two rubies inlaid in it, and an inscription on the inside of it, in some language she couldn t read. Edna forced her to wear a pair of simple purple egg-drop earrings. Mary-Sue walked in and nodded in approval.  
Now, you need some makeup. I ll do it for you. She said, taking out her makeup kit.  
No, I don t want to wear any. You know how I feel about makeup. her mouth to argue, when Mary-Lynn stomped in.  
Why don t I get to wear makeup? she said, flinging down her teddy bear. Mary-Lynn was wearing a light pink, fluffy, dress that went down the middle of her legs, showing off her cute pink butterfly stockings and white dress shoes. She had a bright pink sash around her middle, tying in a bow at her back. Her blond curls were loose and flowing down her back. You re too young, and this meeting isn t for you. Mary-Sue told her, opening her makeup kit. Mary-Lynn her stomped her foot her arms crossed and a stormy look on her face.  
I should be the one marrying a prince. She s not even my real sister, who knows where she came from! Mary-Lynn said, sticking her nose up in the air.  
Lynn. Don t be mad. I ll put some makeup on you, come here. And you know, the prince is probably going to take one look at me and throw me out of there. I m not the princess type. You re much prettier than me anyway. Mary-Ann told her little sister. She knew that Lynn only said those things because she was mad, not because she wanted to hurt Mary-Ann. Even though everything she said was true. Mary-Ann knew that her little sister loved her just as much as she love her little sister.  
No. You re much prettier than me, and the prince will love you. I m sorry, I m being spoiled again. Lynn always felt bad after she had an outburst, I want white eye paint! Lynn brightened very easily.  
Alright, but only a little, and very lightly, you re much too pretty to need makeup. Edna said, while Sue huffed in the corner about how she was too young to be putting any makeup on. Lynn smiled brilliantly at Edna, nodding vigorously in agreement. Then she skipped out of the room happily after giving Mary-Ann a hug, excitedly talking about how pretty she felt.  
You spoil her, Anna Edna said, slightly disapproving, though with a small smile. Mary-Ann laughed.  
Yes, yes I do spoil her.

Your Majesty I present to you my eldest daughter, Mary-Ann Her mother said, holding Mary-Ann s hand out. Mary-Ann kept her gaze down, not looking at anyone in the room. They both bowed. Mary-Ann heard a small gasp from the corner of the room and looked up. Alexander, the guy she had met earlier, was standing on the right side of the king s throne. He was wearing a light blue jacket, with navy blue and gold trimming. He had on a pair of white riding pants with black knee high boots. The pants were the same one s he had been wearing before, there was an almost unnoticeable grass stain half tucked into his black boots. His hands were tucked behind his back, and he was pulling at the seam of his jacket. His eyes were trained on Anna, a smile sliding across his face. She instantly smiled back.  
Sister The king said standing and opening his arms to her, Welcome home. Your daughter is lovely. A smart match for my eldest son, Alexander. The king walked over to them, hugged his sister, and took Anna s hand, pulling her along with him to stand in front of Alexander. He took Alexander s hand and set it on top of hers. They smiled at each other. Alexander looked a lot like his father. They both had the same blond hair, but Alex s was layered and messy, while his father s hair there wasn t a strand out of place. They both had the same bone structure, strong angular faces, slim, with wiry muscles. Alex s father was getting a belly, and his hair was turning white, but he still didn t look old. The king walked away to talk to his sister.  
Well Anna. We meet again. Alex said rubbing his hair nervously.  
Yes, it seems we do. Anna looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes. She hadn t been able to keep her mind from him all day, yet she had never imagined that he would be the prince she was betrothed to. She wasn t sure if that was a good thing or not yet. You will be staying at the castle now, am I correct? I guess. I have a wedding to plan, right? She was attracted to this man in front of her, but she wasn t thrilled about being forced to marry. Although she was thankful it was to this twenty year old prince and not to a fifty year old duke, or something. She didn t want the title queen or even princess, but if she had to marry she would rather it be to someone her own age who there would be the possibility of love or at least friendship with. The only duke she had met, who did indeed want to marry her, was forty-seven and was one of the foulest people she had ever met. This prince, Alexander, seemed decent and was handsome, so she knew she might be able to get along with him. Anna was wary of him though, she had once met a prince from across the sea. He was handsome and funny, and very pleasant, but he turned out to be an arrogant, foul, nasty, evil person. He had been trying to start a war, and wanted her parent s approval so he could win the king s approval and buy troops from him. The war was over a stolen deer, it was idiotic. Anna knew court life was not going to suit her. She didn t like socializing with people. She preferred animals, and would rather ride her horse than sit around talking to a bunch of old spoiled fat men who looked at women as possessions to show off rather than people, and women who looked down on anyone they thought of as below them. To Anna people were all sorts of spoiled, arrogant, and crabby, animals were not like that. Most just want attention and love. Wild animals want food and to keep their families alive and safe from predators and the weather. Animals couldn t be petty like people.  
Would you like my help in planning it? I don t know the first thing about weddings, or fashion, or women, but I don t want to just strand you with everything. Alex reclaimed her attention.  
I m sure you have many duties you have to see to as prince. Anna had no idea what those duties might be, but this man in front of her was going to be the king one day. She imagined that he had some sort of things to see to during the day, maybe sitting in with the king, learning politics, other kingly/princely stuff.  
No, not really, I have a few things, but I m sure father would be alright with shortening my classes and pushing a few back for a couple of weeks. They had walked away from the talking people, out onto a balcony, looking out on the village. Why are you so interested in helping plan this? We are both being forced to marry. This is not what either of us would choose. She leaned against the railing, studying his face. He looked surprised and slightly hurt by her words.  
I knew a girl once. Her name was also Anna; she was eight when we met. I decided I was going to marry her; she would be your age now you know. She was a princess from Ajanta, her father was the king s brother, so father would approve. Two years later, her brother came with news that Anna had been murdered. Their manor had been attacked; she managed to kill two of the men that killed her mother. But she died. I also met her in a tree. You remind me of her. He wouldn t look at her; his face was full of pain. He hated to think of Anna, and now he was getting married to a girl named Mary-Ann who reminded him so much of his childhood friend. It was the first time in years he had spoken about her. He and his brothers made a silent pact that they wouldn t speak about her. It was an unspoken agreement. They never spoke about her, and when he told them about Anna they cringed at the name, and called her Mary-Ann. I am not that girl. Please don t try to make me into her. Mary-Ann said, pushing herself away from the railing and walking away from the balcony. She felt bad, she knew that the subject had saddened him, and he was in pain from it, but she couldn t stand the thought that he was trying to make her into someone she was not. Wait. That s not what I was saying. Please, come back. He went after her, grabbing her arm. She wrenched away from him.  
Please do not grab me. It came out a lot more rude than she had meant it to, but she just couldn t help it after what she learned. I m sorry. Please don t be mad at me. I just want us to be more than simple husband and wife who barely speak. I would like to be friends, if nothing else. You have a funny way of showing it. I m afraid you will have to earn my trust, and that is not given easily She said arrogantly. He frowned at her, he hated when people pretended to be what they were not, and he could easily tell when people were lying, and she was defiantly lying. She fidgeted with her dress, and her left eye twitched. He looked her in the eye, she flushed, looking somewhat shamed, and looked away. She was not a good liar and obviously didn t lie very often. He liked the way her face colored, so he stepped closer.  
Really now? he asked, trying to force her into a deeper lie. She blushed deeper, still wouldn t look him in the eye and didn t reply.  
You know, I don t like liars, but I ll forgive you since you obviously don t lie often, you re terrible at it. She looked up at him, shock on her face as if she didn t know he could tell she was lying, making him laugh, I m sorry I upset you. What can I do to make it better? He was serious again; he wanted her to like him.  
I am not sure. She didn t understand him. He wasn t like most nobles she d met, he seemed to genuinely care about her feelings and not only his own, she wasn t very used to that. Even her parents and little sister were spoiled and sometimes seemed to care more about themselves than anyone else. She and he little sister donated money regularly to the village and bought food for homeless, starving people. She recalled the time she and Lynn went without eating for a week, giving all her food to the local homeless. She and Lynn had wanted to see how it would be to be homeless and without food. They stayed in the woods and wore the same clothes all week, eating berries and bread crumbs. Her parents had been furious at them, even though they had stayed in the backyard. She shook her head at the memories.  
What are you thinking? Alex asked, taking her arm and leading her down the hallway back to the King s audience chamber where their parents were.  
I ll tell you some other time. If mother heard me talking about it, it would infuriate her again, even though it was years ago. Anna said with a laugh. The King and her mother smiled at them as they walked back in, arm in arm, laughing. Anna glanced towards the corner where Alex s youngest brother was entertaining Lynn.  
Looks like you two get along well. The king said, looking from Anna s mother to Alex and then at Anna.  
Yes, father. Although, I think we will get along better once we know each other better. Alex told his father who nodded.  
Yes, that is expected. You two have the rest of your lives to get to know each other. I believe that is plenty of time. The king said, standing, Now, lunch will be served in twenty minutes. Don t be late, Alexander. The king gave his son a pointed look, indicating that Alex had a tendency to be late to things.  
Yes, father Alex tried to suppress his laugh, but didn t quite make it, which made his father chuckle.  
Come now, sister, we have much to discuss The king held his arm out for Anna s mother, who giggled.  
Like the time with the jelly fish? She said, barely keeping from bursting out laughing. Alex and Anna looked at them confused and interested.  
Don t bring that up, dear sister, or I ll tell about the emu incident. The king smiled. Now Alex and Anna were even more interested.  
You know that wasn t my fault! Anna s mom said, as they walked away, leaving Alex and Anna staring after them curiously. They looked at each other.  
Damn, do I wish I knew what those stories were Anna said. Alex looked at her shocked.  
Damn? I didn t know ladies swore He said.  
This one does, only sometimes though, and I never say anything too strong. Anna said happily, skipping away.  
Where are you going? Alex asked her following slowly behind her.  
I don t know. Where is the best place to go around here? She asked him, stopping so he could catch up.  
The gardens, of course, the flowers there are beautiful. We have three different gardens and four green houses. We have the sacred garden, the pond garden, and the lounge garden. The sacred garden is for members of the royal family only, and two gardeners who are specially picked to tend that garden. They are priests who are cleansed regularly, and you have to be cleansed before you can go in, which is generally at night. It is our place of prayers. The pond garden is a private garden for all who live here; and the lounge garden is for the parties thrown by the king. My father and each of his sons have their own green house, myself included, of course. This is going to take more than twenty minutes to show you all of them. Anna stared at him as he was listing all of the gardens. She couldn t imagine all of it. She loved flowers, although most of them made her sneeze and go teary eyed.

Anna glanced over at Alex, he was still watching her. She blushed and looked back down at her food. He didn t seem to notice her discomfort at being studied so intensely, he just kept staring at her. He had barely touched his food and wasn t paying any attention to his mother, who had been chatting happily at him for the last five minutes.  
Is there something I can help you with? she asked, finally unable to stand his gaze any longer. He shook his head, not answering, and turned back to his food, but his food couldn t hold his attention for long, and nothing his mother was saying was even vaguely interesting.  
Looking back at her he noticed a chain hanging around her neck. The chain was big and disappeared into the front of her dress. What is that chain Alex asked, interested by her choice of fashion.  
It s nothing really. It s the only thing I have from who I used to be she pulled the chain out of her dress, When I woke up I had it on, and I ve never taken it off. Hanging on the chain was a man s ring. It had ruby stones inlaid in it. The look on Alex s face was surprised, it was his ring. The same ring he had given to Anna as a child, was now hanging on a chain around Mary-Ann s neck. The Mary-Ann who had been given the nickname Anna by her maids. Was it possible? No, it couldn t be, Anna was dead. Yet her she was, a girl that looked like Anna, talked like Anna, had the same name as Anna, and even had the ring he had given to Anna.  
It s beautiful. And you have no idea where you got it, you said? he couldn t help it, he needed to know. Maybe, just maybe, it was possible that Anna hadn t died like they all thought. Maybe she had lived, and someone had brought her to her new parents. Mary-Ann was adopted after all, so why couldn t she be his Anna? Because Anna was dead, he told himself. He had to remember that, Anna was dead. Her brother had seen her killed and she had died in Elizabeth s arms. She was dead, gone forever, never to return. He kept reminding himself of that fact.  
No. I have no idea where I got it from. Why have you seen this before? Anna asked him curiously. She wanted to know anything about her past, anything at all even if it was only something as stupid as someone seeing a ring somewhere. She needed to know.  
Yes. Yes I have seen that ring before He couldn t take his eyes off her. He knew it was her, the Anna from his childhood. He didn t know why, he didn t know how, but he knew it was her, and he couldn t believe it. Really? Where? She was excited now. Around was his answer. He turned back to his mother and wouldn t look back at Anna no matter what she did to try and reclaim his attention. Disappointed, she looked away from him. To her left was sitting one of his brothers, the youngest one. He had long brown hair tied up with a blue ribbon, on the end of one ribbon was a small and hardly noticeable pink pin, in the shape of a heart. She thought she recognized the pin, but didn t know from where. It didn t matter anyway, it was just a pin. She thought of asking him about it but didn t, she was more interested in knowing what Alex knew about her ring.

Two weeks she had been here, and already she was getting depressed. She hardly spoke to anyone and spent most of her time in her rooms, which were a lovely expanse of two big rooms. She had a delightful bedroom, full of bright fun colors, attached to an elegant sitting room, colored with browns and creams. She could throw a party in her bedchambers. Yet all she ever felt like doing was sitting at her window and watching all of the people mingling, she had a wonderful view of the pond and the gardens around it from her bedroom balcony, and an unobstructed view of the town around the castle from her sitting room window. She only ever talked to the maids, and that was not very much. Alex had promised her that he would show her the gardens, but she hadn t seen him since the day they met, at dinner. He wouldn t meet her eyes, didn t say a word to her, and then he disappeared, not being seen in the castle or on the grounds; he even started taking his meals in his room. He was avoiding her, she was sure of it. Once just last week, she had heard his voice coming from the hallway off the throne room, but when she went to see him, he was gone. His brother, who had been the one he was talking to said he just ran, for no apparent reason. How in the world could she marry someone who couldn t even stand being in the same room as her? Anna contemplated going to the king about it, maybe she should ask him if they could just call it off and have Alex marry someone else. He obviously didn t want her, and there had to be women more suited to the role of queen. The more she thought about it the more it seemed like a good idea. What other choice do I have? She asked herself, she didn t want to be married to Alex, not if this was how it was going to be.  
Laurie. Please see to it that I gain an audience with our king. I have something I need to discuss with him about his son. Anna told the maid that was always sitting in the corner. She mended clothes, and fetched tea, and answered the door, and did any other things that she was needed to do, whether Anna liked it or not. Right now, Anna was thankful she was always around, sending Laurie would be much faster than going herself. She didn t know the castle yet, since she had barely been out of her room. She prayed that the king would see her soon, and hear her out. Hopefully soon, by at least tomorrow, she could be sleeping in her own bed, in her own house, with Lynn waking her up in the morning with her bad attitude hand on hip, demanding something or another. She missed Lynn, very much so, and her nightmares had gotten worse without Edna s amazing healing abilities. Anna craved Edna s tea, and Edna s company. The only thing Anna had ever been sure about was Edna had been her maid before, before she had almost died, even though no one had told her, Anna was sure of it. And it made her miss Edna that much more. She hoped she could go home.

Mary-Ann, my dear, how wonderful it is to see you. You aren t getting out a lot are you? I suppose this is quite the transition. How are you? The king said, pulling Anna into a bear hug, lifting her slightly off her feet and then setting her back on her feet.  
I am well, your highness Anna said bowing. Looking up she caught the queen s eye. The queen was tall and regal looking, and was frowning in Anna s direction; the frown made her pretty face look mean. She doesn t approve of me, Anna thought nervously, maybe that will help my case. She still didn t like the thought that the queen did not like her.  
What is it you would like to speak to us about? The queen asked coldly.  
Well, it is about Alex. I have not seen him in some time. I believe he is avoiding me, I think he does not wish to marry me. Perhaps, it would be best if he marries a princess from another country, or one of the nobles from this one. No one knows where I came from; surely I am not suited to marry the crown prince. Anna knew she had rambled a bit, but she couldn t help it, she was a nervous wreck. She just wanted to go home.  
This is true. You are not the most suited, we could find wealthier and prettier brides out there; and Alex has been hiding lately. Maybe that would be for the best. The queen said smiling, motioning to her maid, who brought her water. That was when Anna noticed her, one of the most beautiful women Anna had ever seen, was sitting in the dark corner behind the thrones. Her hair was the darkest color in the room, her eyes were like liquid gold, her lips the color of the reddest apples, her skin was a light brown color, not the color some people got from working in the sun for too long, a natural brown color. She had never before seen a person who was born with brown skin. It was a foreign beauty, a dark beauty, something she had never seen before. Something about the woman made her uneasy. She seemed to not be paying any attention to anything around her.  
No. Anna, you are best suited, whether you know it or not, you will marry Alex. He ll come around; he just needs time to adjust to this. The queens smile vanished as her husband said this, her frown now turned to him. Anna forgot all about the uneasy feeling and the woman she had been watching at this news. Her heart fell.  
Yes, your majesty. I think I shall start on the wedding preparations then. Anna said, bowing and backing to the door. She managed to walk calmly to her room before breaking down. She cried for hours and hours until she finally cried herself to sleep.

Screaming, Anna jerked up in bed, she was sweating, and holding her scar, just like every other time she had woken from her nightmares. Laurie was already there, looking harassed and frantic. Are you alright, princess? Laurie asked her, wiping up sweat from Anna s head, I heard you screaming and thought you were in trouble. Are those terrible nightmares getting worse? She stoked the fire, and put water up to boil, for some tea. Anna looked around, still dazed from her nightmare. The pain, the scent of smoke burning her nostrils, the fear, all of it was more intense than normal. Something had been different this time, she felt potent grief, she had lost something, she didn t know what, but it had made her empty inside. Distantly, in the back of her mind, she still heard people screaming, this time she had been able to remember the nightmare. She shuddered at the memory of it.  
I didn t feel anything at first and then I felt a slight pain, like you get with a paper cut. The intense pain started seconds after with a gush of blood. I stood, surprised just staring at my blood pouring out of me, the pain making my vision blurry. I collapsed on to the floor next to a woman, darkness threatened to take me, but I fought, I needed to stay awake, stay alive. My mind barely registered the pained scream and the guy surging forward to decapitate the soldier who had wounded me. I couldn t pay attention, I didn t know where I was, the pain was overwhelming me, the smell of the fire clogging my nose and making it even more of a chore to breathe. My brain was shutting off, I was going to die, I knew it, I was going to die but still I fought off death. Elizabeth. I need you to bring her to Tolsdale. Bring her to the wise woman there; she's the only one capable of saving her. Please." The guy said, holding me in his arms, protectively. My pain was terrible, I couldn t think, couldn t move, all I could feel was the searing pain of the sword. I realized we were not in the same place that we had been in before, but I couldn t seem to bring myself to wonder how I had missed being moved. Time was standing still, my brain going numb. I didn t know what was happening; I didn t know who I was or who these people were. It was all so overwhelming, the pain was so terrible. Why couldn t I sleep again? I had no reason not to. My world was getting darker. "William, William listen to me. She is gone." My vision went black and the world was silent.

It is over. You may go back to sleep, I am sorry to wake you. Anna said, forcing herself to lay back down, the memory of the pain fading away. She knew she wouldn t be able to get back to sleep, so she went out onto the balcony. She was staring at the pond, when a glint of gold caught her eye. Down by the castle wall, in the shadows, were two people, a man and a woman. She couldn t tell who they were; she could only hear their whispers that she couldn t make out. The woman laughed softly and grabbed the man s arm, tugging him out into the light; she pulled him over to the pond and started undressing him. Anna gasped; it was Alex and that beautiful woman from earlier, the one that gave her a bad feeling. She was kissing his neck and running her hand over his now naked chest. Suddenly he grabbed her arms and flung her away from him shaking his head. Once again, the wind carried their whispers to her, whispers she couldn t understand. Alex grabbed his shirt and started walking away. The woman s eyes glinted gold as she angrily grabbed his arm. He spun around, they frowned at each other, and the woman laughed again. She kissed him on the cheek, and whispered in his ear, then kissed him on the lips, softly. She glanced up at Anna, smiling at her and then walked away. The smile was not friendly.  
You can t resist me, you want me, and you will be mine. She had said. Anna didn t know how she had heard what the woman had said to him, but the words floated to her as clearly as if the woman was standing right next to her. Anna had already fallen to her knees on the balcony while watching the scene, now she slowly stood up, watching Alex. Her movement must have attracted his attention, because he suddenly looked up at her. She stared at him, and he stared back.  
Anna he called, taking a few steps forward. She didn t want to hear it, not tonight. She couldn t deal with this too. Anna, Wait! he called out to her running towards the castle, as she turned and walked back into her room. The tears started falling as she slammed the doors shut and climbed into bed. He had hurt her, he had been hurting her by avoiding her, and then he hurt her even more by doing that. No wonder that woman had given her a bad feeling. For the second time that day, Anna cried herself to sleep.

The next morning Anna woke to pounding on her door.  
It s the prince. Laurie told her. Anna sighed, getting up and storming to the door.  
Go away. I do not wish to see you. Not this early in the morning. She knew without looking that her eyes were red and puffy from crying, she could feel the tear tracks still sticky on her face, and she was irritated by her troubled sleep.  
It is noon. Let me in. Do not make me get the palace guards to bust in your door. Alex said. He was standing in the hallway and had been since breakfast. The first time he had tried, the maid told him that Anna had been having bad nightmares lately and that they had been getting worse, along with horrible headaches, which neither allowed her much sleep. The news made him feel guilty that he didn t know. So he had sat next to the door and waited, and waited, and waited. He had tried many times to get her to let him come in and each time the maid said she was sleeping. It was freaking time for her to wake up, he needed to explain. He had thought of many things to say to her, yet he couldn t think of what to actually say. He couldn t even remember last night well, and he hadn t even drunk anything, even though his father had urged him too. Last night he couldn t sleep and had a strange urge to go for a walk, so he was going to see if Anna was up. His father had told him that Anna was starting to doubt their marriage because he had been avoiding her. He wanted to stop that her from thinking like that. He had no idea what had come over him with Tiea last night. She was like a whirlwind of color, beauty, mischief, and mystery. She had been a maid for them for years and she had always been beautiful, but she was more Nikolas s type than his own. Nikolas was the one who wanted danger, and mystery, and everything Tiea was. Alex didn t want that, he preferred a soft, elegant beauty rather than a raw beauty. To him, Tiea was just too pretty, it didn t seem real; she had no flaws. Yet last night he couldn t think, it was as if his vision had clouded over, like he was in a daze. She took his hand and all he wanted to do was follow, he wanted her and nothing else. Then the thought of Anna popped into his head, and suddenly the world had been clear again. He didn t know what had happened; he couldn t even remember what they had talked about last night. He was drawing a complete blank.  
Anna opened the door and he stepped in, opening his mouth, ready to defend himself, when he looked at her. She still had tear marks on her cheeks, her eyes were red and puffy, her breathing was shallow and hitched, all indicating that she had been crying. I m sorry. I didn t mean to hurt you he had her face between his hand before he could stop himself. Gently, he brushed a tear away from her eye.  
Who says you did? she asked defiantly, angrily looking him in the eye, and purposefully not moving away.  
I can tell. He knew it was him that made her cry, he wished it wasn t but he knew it was. He felt terrible, but had no idea what to say to her to make anything better.  
Well, you re dumb. She said, tears falling again. Why was she crying now? She just couldn t stop the tears.  
Don t be such a girl Alex told her. Anna looked up in surprise; he had told her that before. She had heard it so many times, every time she had started to cry as a little girl.  
I am a girl you dummy. She said, like she always used to. He laughed and pulled her into his arms. She clutched his shirt and cried harder. She remembered him, but she didn t know what it meant. She couldn t remember much about him, but she remembered some stuff. Why could she still not remember all of it? Slowly she stopped crying, Alex s arms around her felt good, relaxing, comforting. She was getting tired, she leaned into him more.  
Anna? Alex whispered in her ear.  
Yeah? she answered softly.  
Don t fall asleep. He whispered; his breath warm against her cheek.  
Too late she closed her eyes, her breathing becoming more regular. She sighed happily in her sleep. Alex chuckled softly and picked her up, gently laying them down on the bed. He watched her sleep, telling himself he d only stay for a few minutes, but drifted off to sleep himself.

I can t believe you failed! The queen was in a rage. She swung her arm over the table and everything on it flew against the wall, shattering and leaving gross streaks and splotches of food and tea.  
I am giving you EVERYTHING! Everything you need. Beauty, grace, power, and opportunity the queen screamed, picking up the table and throwing it too against the wall, And you can t even get rid of one measly, spoiled, stuck up prince! I can do it. It ll be a little harder than I first thought, but I can do it. Tiea said from her kneeling position. She had never failed her queen before and was afraid of what the consciences might be. I know, I know, just get on with it. From now on you are his personal maid. I ll see what else I can do, maybe start a harem, but that s more of an eastern custom. I ll speak to my husband about it. She didn t see why she couldn t do it; she was the queen after all. It would take some time to convince her husband, but he d come around, maybe. She flung herself dramatically into her chair.  
If you don t find a way to do your task, I ll have to do this the messy way, and things wouldn t fair well for your beloved prince. I would like to keep him alive, he is my son after all, but if it can t helped then it can t be helped. She sighed. She had no need for her first born son, and she couldn t let him take the throne. She was going to be queen for a very long time, and no brat of hers was going to take it away. If she had to kill him she would; she had never really liked him anyway. He was too much like his father.  
What about this Mary-Ann that he is supposed to be marrying? Tiea asked her.  
Oh, I don t know. Try to get the prince away from her, if you have to kill her, or something. I don t really care; she s probably just some nobody anyway. The queen waved her hand dismissively. Tiea rose and left the room with a bow, already trying to figure out what to do about the prince. She had him under her control, yet one thought of Anna and he had broken the spell. No one had ever done that; no one should have been able to do that. She was going to have to try a little harder. She groaned; she hadn t had to put effort into anything in a long time, this was going to be annoying.

Anna woke up slowly, not sure of what had woken her. It wasn t her usual nightmare that woke her; she actually couldn t remember the dream she had, but it she felt peaceful and well rested, and warm. Groggily she nuzzled herself deeper into the arms that were wrapped around her. Anna sat up, confused, Alex s arms fell from her and instantly he groaned and moved closer, wrapping in arms around her once again. Anna remembered Alex coming in. He was such a jerk! Just last night she had seen him with another woman, and now here she was waking up to him! Move yourself! she demanded to his sleeping body. In his sleep he gripped her closer and nuzzled his face against her side. She huffed and threw his arms from her; she stood up and walked over to the other side of the room. Her anger melted as she watched him sleep. She watched him for a few minutes, then, after confirming that they had only been a sleep a few hours and it was a little before dinner time, sent the maid for beef stew. It was his favorite, she didn t know how she knew, but she went with her instincts. The smell of the food must have started waking him up. Anna watched as he patted the bed beside him where she had been laying, then sat up, looking around confused.  
Thought I ran away, did you? Anna couldn t keep the laugh in, no matter how hard she tried. For a second there, yeah, I did he said, taking the bowl of stew Anna was offering to him, Mmmm. Beef stew, my favorite. Thank you. They ate in silence.  
I forgot. Wedding plans, we need to go through what we want. I told your parents we would start planning today. You re still going to marry me? I thought you had decided not to. He was surprised, he had hoped, but didn t think she would listen. He found himself happier than he thought he was going to be.  
Yes. I have no choice in marrying you. Your father made that very clear. Anna said. Alex s happiness faded at her tone, she sounded sad and disappointed.  
Why would you not want to? Most women would kill for a chance at a prince, let alone the crown prince. Maybe that s why he liked Anna so much; she didn t want to be the queen, although he knew she would make an amazing one.  
Well, for one, you kept ignoring me and running away from me, and then I miss my sister, and Edna. Again, she sounded sad.  
I shall bring them here then. I m sure father will let Lynn stay for as long as she wants. Anna instantly brightened up. Before she could stop herself, she had tackled Alex in a hug.

What are you doing here? Alex asked Tiea as he stepped into his room. She bowed to him.  
I am now your personal maid, at your mother s request, of course. She said politely. Her tone was docile like maids tones were, yet she stalked over to the couch and plopped down, like she was royal, and belonged there. He eyed her warily.  
Aren t you her personal maid? his mother didn t let go of her possessions very easily.  
Yup she said, popping the P and crossing her ankles on the couch I guess she sorta fired me. She didn t seem too upset by this. His mother was watching him, he didn t know why, but that was the only explanation he could come up with for why she put Tiea as his maid. He didn t know what to say to her, so he walked into his room and started to unbutton his shirt. He almost didn t hear the door open and close.  
My orders were to dress you and undress you as well. She said it with a smirk.  
I m not an infant. I don t need a nurse maid, I can dress myself. She was turning his good mood sour. He didn t want to be in a bad mood when he went to talk to his father. Tiea sauntered up to him, shapely hips swaying. Surely it wouldn t be that bad to let me she pawed at his bared chest, shoving his shirt off his shoulders. He shook his head.  
Stop it Tiea. I do not wish to have you whipped, but maybe it would be good for you. He wouldn t really have her whipped, but it was a good threat.  
Oh, you don t really mean that do you? She got closer to him, running her hands up and down his back now. She pouted up at him.  
Yes. I do mean that. He stared hard down at her, his anger showing through his tone.  
Fine she backed up, hands in the air, disappointed. Angrily she walked out of the room and he heard her plop down on the couch; she started clinking something together. Ignoring her, he quickly got changed. He had to meet his father; he couldn t be late, not again.  
He walked out of his room and passed Tiea, still ignoring her; he stormed out the door and basically bolted down the hallway. He really didn t want to be late. His father s door opened before Alex could knock. Follow me His father said, walking down the hallway. Alex stood for a second, surprised. His father usually did their lessons in his room. Shrugging, he set out after his father, jogging to catch up. His father led them to the sacred garden. They had to wait a few minutes before the minister came and blessed and cleansed them, so they could enter. His father set out again, faster this time. He followed silently, like he knew his father wanted.  
I need to tell you something important, son. You must never say anything to anyone. His father said, stopping suddenly.  
Alright. I won t say a word. Alex said, now confused.  
I do not trust my wife. he didn t say anything else for a few minutes, She is up to something. I have no idea what it is. She insists that Mary-Ann be thrown out of the country and another take her place. She has started a harem for you. Her maid Tiea is the head girl. I argued, but I see no harm in it for now. She insists that you attend them every night, and the first girl to become pregnant marries you. I told her no, but she is still trying. A harem? No. I am not going to do that. Alex was disgusted by it, Tiea isn t her maid anymore. Mother assigned her to me. I figure mom is watching me. I knew it had something to do with you, I just didn t know what. She never visits here, you know, and sometimes I feel uneasy in her presence. Alex s father wouldn t look at him.  
What are you trying to tell me? Alex didn t understand. There is an evil presence around her. I do not think she is on the good side. Alex remembered many times were strange things had happened around his mother. He thought maybe his father was right.  
Remember, no one must know. Watch over Mary-Ann.

Only a week had gone by since she and Alex had made up, Anna was on her way home to pick up her little sister and Edna. She had bugged Alex until he agreed to take her to get them, he had been paranoid, and didn t want her going out. But she just couldn t sit and wait for them to get to the castle; she had to go pick them up. As they were leaving, Alex got called away by his mother; it had something to do with his brother Nikolas, whom she had never met before. She had been afraid then that he wouldn t let her go, but he added ten guards to supervise the carriage and, looking like it might kill him to do so, let her go on without him. He told her he would catch up with her, but it wasn t a long ride; half an hour perhaps. She propped her legs up on the bench opposite her, slouching down. The carriage bounced, one of the wheels had caught a large rock, and Anna jolted awake, not yet realizing that she had fallen asleep. Yawning, she looked out her window, nothing looked familiar yet, she was too tired. She lay back down; they had to be getting close. Suddenly she heard a yell, followed by the clanking of steel on steel. The carriage stopped. She looked out the window again. There were men dressed in all black, masked and hooded, everywhere. There had to be at least fifty of them. The carriage door was torn away and another man dressed in black reached for her. She cringed away from him.  
Princess, if you do not come, harm may come to you. His voice sounded slightly familiar, yet she couldn t place him anywhere in her past, not that she could remember much of it. She glanced back outside, to the blood and fighting. As she was looking out the window, a man s head was severed from his body with such force that it was flung against the carriage under the window, blood sprayed up into her face. Mortified she turned back to the man and held her hand out to him. He grabbed it and pulled her to him and out of the carriage, swinging her up and over his shoulder, running off into the trees carrying her like that.  
Put me down! she yelled, punching him on the back and kicking her feet slightly. He dropped her to the ground roughly, next to a horse. He dug in the saddle bags for a second and came out with a length of rope.  
I hope that someday you are able to forgive me for this he said, taking her hands and binding them in front of her as well as tying a piece of fabric over her eyes as a blindfold. She could see the ground, but nothing in front of her or above her. He picked her up, and seated her on the horse, getting up behind her. Anna opened her mouth to complain.  
We have a long way to go, princess. It s best you stay quiet, for my sake and yours he said cutting off her complaints, nudging the horse through the trees, going slowly at first to get the horse used to the weight of the two of them.

You act as if you are not going to be followed. Anna said after hours of riding in silence. The sun was setting and her stomach felt hollow and empty, her wrists were bound too tightly, her legs were chafing painfully against the saddle, and she was getting tired. They had only stopped twice, to water the horse, and never for anything else, but they never went very fast. They went at a steady trot most of the way.  
I won t be. My men took care of all your guards, and it ll be hours before anyone finds your trail, then even longer to find out what happened to you. You re a long way from home, highness. Don t expect to be saved, not right away, and I have plenty of men to deal with the scouts that they will send after you. He said this happily, as if he really couldn t care less if he was found.  
What will you do with me This entire time she d been afraid, afraid that at any moment he would dump her over the horse leaving her out to die slowly, or would just pull out his sword and cut her to pieces. Anything I wish That answer made her more afraid, not afraid of dying as much anymore, but afraid of what he was going to do to her. She stopped talking. They stopped moving, He got off the horse and lifted her off, setting her to her feet beside him. She stumbled at the sudden use of her legs. Laughing, her kidnapper caught her before she hit the ground. Instead of putting her to her feet again, he threw her over his shoulder, like he had before, and carried her that way. Once again she started punching him and kicking him. He ignored it. A few minutes later he set her down and untied her blindfold. They were inside somewhere. It looked like a small hut, made out of dirt. The guy knelt down and cut through the rope at her wrists. Without saying a word he got up and went through another door, coming back soon after with food, which he set half of down in front of her.  
What is going on? She asked. She didn t feel like a prisoner, not that she felt pampered, but she hadn t expected to be treated kindly.  
Well, for one, we all just saved your life. He said, chewing on his bread.  
You kidnapped me. From your kidnappers. They were supposed to bring you to your home, right? she nodded, well you are very far away from your home. They had kidnapped you right from underneath everyone s noses, so we had to kidnap you back. We couldn t say anything to the king and queen, there is corruption in the castle. Anna had no idea what he was talking about. She was confused, and tired, and in pain, none of what he was saying made any sense.  
What are you saying? She asked him.  
The queen is the corruption. She is evil. He still had not taken off his hood or his mask, all she could see of him was his blue eyes, eyes that were staring right into her own eyes.  
Now I really have no idea what you are saying She was getting dizzy, and having trouble keeping her eyes open.  
Don t worry, I will keep you safe, you are now being protected. We are a secret order, created centuries ago, dedicated to destroying evil and keeping the world from being overrun by hell. She shook her head, the world spinning around her. He was smiling, enjoying her confusion.  
I-I don t und- she stuttered before fainting.

Brother. I came as quickly as I could when I heard the news Nikolas said, walking into Alex s bedroom without knocking, like he always did.  
Nikolas, it s good to see you his brother said, pulling him into a hug, it was a purely Alex move, he would probably even hug his enemies. What has happened? A runner came to me a yesterday with news that your bride had been kidnapped on her way to her parents house. Nikolas said with interest.  
Mary-Ann was kidnapped, not once but, twice. Somehow the kidnappers posed as guards and got assigned to her carriage, then on the road, hours from where they were supposed to be, they were attacked, and she was kidnapped again! He almost yelled. Nikolas let his brother hug him again.  
She ll be fine, Alex. We ll find her. His brother was torn apart by losing his bride.  
It was my fault. I let her go alone. Mother needed me, so I told Anna I would catch up, but when I got there they had told me that she had never arrived. It took me too long to pick up the trail and hours to find her carriage, and all the dead guards. There had to be about fifty attackers, and they all scattered in different directions. If I hadn t of let her go by herself, it wouldn t have happened. What if she s dead? He sat down on his bed and buried his face in his hands.  
She ll be fine. I will find her, Alex. I will find her for you, I promise you. Nikolas hated seeing his brother like this and hated that he would have to be like this for a while longer.  
Alex! A woman s voice called from the other room. Alex sighed.  
Not again he said under his breath, In here! He called back to her. The maid Tiea sauntered into the room.  
Would you like me to cheer you up? she asked Alex, either ignoring Nikolas or not aware that he was in the room. Her tone made it known what kind of cheering up she meant.  
He needs nothing from you, servant. Nikolas said, glaring at her. Lazily she turned her gaze to him.  
Aww, is little brother jealous? How cute She said, sitting and wrapping her body around Alex. Nikolas couldn t help feeling disgusted, many people mistook his watch of her for attraction, but in truth he didn t trust her.  
Hardly He let the disgust he felt show through his words. Alex got up, almost tipping Tiea to the floor. She huffed straightening herself.  
I don t know why you re so torn up about her. She was ugly and boring anyway; hardly someone who would ever be noticed. She said, smirking, thinking of her own beauty. Nikolas got up and walked over to her, she smiled daringly up at him. He picked her up by her arm.  
If you were not my mother s favorite I would have you beheaded for treason against the soon to be queen. In fact, I might anyway, her fury won t last long. Tiea paled at Nikolas s words. You are lucky neither of us hit women. Now go, get out of my sight before I change my mind about that Alex chimed in.  
You should have her whipped, maybe that would teach her a lesson. Nikolas told his brother.  
You know how I feel about whipping. I would much rather have her tongue cut out to stop her annoying voice from giving me a headache. Alex gave a short laugh, once again sitting on the edge of his bed.  
Even joking about that is not like you, Alexander. An amused voice said from the balcony.  
Spying, Christopher? How extremely like you. Nikolas replied. Christopher walked in, his long brown hair was tied back into a ponytail with a light pink ribbon, on the end of the ribbon was the small heart shaped pin he never went anywhere without.  
I was not spying. I just do not like her and decided not to make my presence known until she was gone. He announced, standing tall, with his nose in the air.  
Oh, so hiding, was it? That s much better! Nikolas teased and Christopher stuck his tongue out at him. All their lives Alex and Nikolas had enjoyed tormenting their younger brother, whose personality was more like a girl s than a guy s. Christopher never let it bother him for long, and always retaliated somehow. Normally when all three of them were together in the same place chaos broke out, but Nikolas and Christopher had agreed on a short truce for their brother. Nikolas wasn t going to be there long anyway, he had a search party to get together and then he was going to go off by himself, like usual. Alex had fallen silent again, staring out the window into the sky.  
I will not let any harm come to her. I will protect her with my life, we lost Anna once and I will not let it happen again. I promise you Nikolas said, kneeling down in front of Alex and staring him in the eyes. Alex just nodded, not able to form words. His brothers were too good to him.  
Christopher, stay with him. It s time for me to leave. I ll try to report back every couple of weeks, hopefully she ll be found soon. Nikolas said, walking out of the room, with both his brothers staring after him.

Anna woke up with the mother of all headaches going on a rampage in her skull. She couldn t see straight because of the pain. Remembering everything that had happened, she shot to her feet, leaning against the wall to help her walk. She put her ear to the door, listening out. She didn t know what or who was on the other side of the door, but when she didn t hear anyone outside she slowly opened the door. Still using the wall to support herself she made her way down the hallway, slowly her vision was getting clearer, and she sped up. She was running through the hallway when she felt arms around her stomach. She was picked up off her feet, the breath knocked out of her as she fell back against the person who grabbed her. Princess, where do you think you re going? he laughed, it was her kidnapper. Away from here! she yelled struggling to get away. The more she struggled the more amused he seemed to become and the louder he laughed. Still holding her around the middle, feet off the ground, he started back the way she had come. She was disappointed when she realized she hadn t gotten very far. He opened the door and threw her down on the bed, once again.  
You were going the wrong way, princess. He sat down in the chair, facing her, the same way as before, but this time he didn t have his hood up, and the mask only covered his half his face. Anna thought it was stupid, it hid nothing, all his features where uncovered even with the mask. His hair was so black it looked blue in the light, short but longer than it should have been, as if he had forgotten to get it cut, or was too busy. His eyes were icy blue with a green ring in the middle, not the warm sky blue of Alex s eyes, or the robin s egg blue of the king s, or even the blue-green of the queen s. Something about him was very familiar, but again she couldn t put her finger on it.  
I would have found my way out. She turned away from him, not wanting to look at him any longer, she could sense the danger radiating off of him.  
No you would not have. We are underground, princess. These tunnels go for miles and miles underground, most not even reaching the main tunnels, even less reaching the surface. Many of the tunnels lead to dead ends, and are intricately booby trapped. You ll never make it out alive without help, and until we are sure you will no longer try to escape, we will be blind folding you whenever you are taken somewhere. Even if you somehow manage to get out, you have no idea where you are. Either way, you will die. There was no emotion in his voice as he explained it to her. I m more clever than you think, kidnapper. I would have found my way out. Anna said, confidently, when she felt so far away from being confident.  
Oh, I really doubt that, princess He laughed at her, which annoyed her even more than it had before, There are nasty creatures lurking around dark corners, creatures that your pretty little innocent mind would break at seeing. His face showed no emotion, his voice copying his face almost perfectly, but Anna could tell there was an underlying sense of sorrow and panic to those words.  
Why does it seem you don t care what happens to me, you laugh when you talk about how I would die, yet you say you are trying to save me? I don t understand. He kidnapped her to protect her from dying so he says yet laughed at the mention of her death.  
I laugh because I find the thought of it funny. I would never allow that to happen to you. He leaned forward in his chair and stared at her. The look in his eyes was so intense that she blushed and looked away.  
Why? You are a very important person, even if you don t seem like much, Princess. He looked her over, seeming sort of disappointed.  
Hey! There is nothing wrong with me! she objected, slightly angry at this stranger for judging her as if she was some sort of object that he found lacking. He leaned back, slightly surprised by her words.  
And you ve got an attitude. His eyebrows raised and he shook his head at her. Well Princess, I think it s time to test you out. Anna shrunk away, not only at the words but the tone of his voice and slow smile that spread across his face. I have a name you know, kidnapper. She said stalling, trying to ignore her fear of him and what he may be planning on doing to her. So do I. He said, but not telling her his name. He stood up, stance relaxed.  
Which is? She couldn t help but be curious as to what his name was. Apparently she was going to be here for a while, she might as well know his name, even if she was scared of him and sure he was going to do awful things to her.  
Koal. Call me Koal, Anna. Before Anna could say anything else he turned around and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

With nothing else to do Anna studied the room. Which was small, consisting of a bed, which was surprisingly more comfortable than it had been in her forced drug induced state she had been in when she woke up, a chair, a small table crammed into the corner and a big desk which took up most of the room. Curious, Anna got up and went to the desk, pulling out the top drawer, which was empty. The next drawer she tried had a few pens and sheets of paper. The last two drawers were locked so tightly she couldn t even budge them and was wondering if they were even real, when the door opened.  
Snooping? Koal asked obviously humored by the thought. Anna started to say no, but then realized that snooping was exactly what she was doing, so she nodded instead.  
Yes, I believe I was though it wasn t really her fault, she thought, he left her in here with nothing to do. What else was she supposed to do? This made Koal laugh.  
Honesty. That ll get you into trouble. He seemed halfway between amused and serious, like most times.  
Tell me about it! she laughed, momentarily forgetting who she was talking to. She sighed at the memories that were brought up, and sat on the edge of the bed. She didn t even notice it when Koal sat on the edge of the bed next to her.  
You look sad. Why? his voice was so soft it was almost a whisper. Anna jumped in surprise, she hadn t realized he was so close, and she was confused by his tone. It was soft, caring; the most emotional she had heard his voice yet besides when he was mocking her.  
Why do you care? She asked, voice going almost as soft as his, without her even meaning to. She wanted to be angry with him, to hate him, she did not want to talk to him.  
Believe it or not, your happiness really does matter to me. I may seem all mean right now, but everything I have been doing is to keep you safe. When this is all over, you will go back and marry your prince. You ll have your happily ever after with Alex, like you ve been dreaming of since you were eight. His eyes bore into hers and at that moment, she wasn t thinking of Alex, he was one of the farthest things from her mind. She couldn t stop thinking about how she wanted to run her hand through Koal s hair to find out just how soft it really was, it couldn t really be as soft as it looked, right?. Anna made herself close her eyes, and take a deep breath, but she still didn t move away from him.  
Eight, huh? And how would you know that? She found herself slightly miffed that yet another person knew more about her past than she did; and knew that when she got over the lost, dizzy feeling that staring into Koal s eye gave her, she was going to be a whole lot more mad.  
I know a lot about you, princess, and eventually I will share those things with you. You should try to remember on your own. Why does everyone keep telling me to remember on my own? And who are YOU to know about ME? She tore her eyes away from Koal s. She was right, as soon as she looked away, she was pissed, she stared at the floor, breathing heavily in anger, trying to keep her cool. Koal sighed, realizing that the moment they had been having was over.  
Someday, Princess, maybe someday he whispered to himself, standing up and walking to the door.  
Koal, wait Anna said softly, involuntarily, his body froze. It was the first time she had said his name since she had gotten here, it had been too long and it had an effect on him that he had not expected. Slowly he turned around.  
Yes, Anna? Is there something I could do for you? I live to serve the princess, you know. He couldn t help but say it a little sarcastically. She had hit a nerve with him, without either of them anticipating it. For a second Anna looked slightly confused, and then she hung her head down.  
I wasn t always a princess. At least, I don t think I was. I have never felt very princess like. She said sadly, turning her face away. Koal immediately felt terrible for making fun of her.  
Yes, you always have been a princess. And you were a very good princess, and your people loved you. Other royals, well, they saw weakness where there was only strength in you. You were young, but well known and well loved. Now, what did you need? His voice was gentle, a tone only this girl seemed to be able to bring out. Anna wouldn t look at him; she shook her head and turned around.  
Nothing. I didn t need anything, you may go She had turned around so he couldn t see her cry. She wanted so bad to know about her past, about who she was, and the family she couldn t remember. She could FEEL parts of her past, felt like she knew some people, knew she had been some place before, but she couldn t remember. She vaguely remembered Alex, knew she had met him as a child, his voice would float into her mind yet she had no idea what he was saying or when it was. She wanted it. She felt like the memories were right there, waiting to come out, but she couldn t find them no matter how hard she tried. If only someone would help her; someone like Alex, whom she knew from her past, or someone like Koal, who obviously knew her from her past. Anna was crying hard, and didn t even realize that Koal hadn t left until he put his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. He rocked her and patted her hair, whispering in her ear that everything would be alright. She was so upset that she couldn t even be embarrassed, but Koal was sure that emotion would come later. Koal picked her up and laid her on the bed, he figured she would cry herself to sleep. He tried to let go, but she clung to him, wanting any support and love she could get at that moment, even if it happened to be her kidnapper. Sighing, Koal laid down on the bed next to her, once again wrapping his arms around her.  
If only I were more suited for this comforting an upset woman. He muttered under his breath, at this she turned into him and sobbed even harder, face pressed against his chest. It was the most odd reaction to his comment, and couldn t force back the smile. Even though he had not ever held a crying woman in his arms as she cried herself to sleep, he did not find it unpleasant, although he figured that was just because of whom the woman in his arms was. He found that her sniffles amused him, and couldn t stop himself from running his hands through her hair or like the feeling the soft skin of her cheek rub against his neck. He continued to rub her back even after she had fallen asleep, and it wasn t long before he fell asleep also.

The dining hall fell silent; suddenly everyone was more interested in their food than they were in gossip. Everyone was used to the Queen s temper, she was perpetually angry, but she had never lashed out like this in front of people before. The Queen was known for her cold heart and anger, but in front of the nobles, she had always managed to keep her calm, yet had lately been lashing out strangely. There were rumors she was possessed, yet none would be caught saying it, or they would surely be hanged. A girl s screams rang out through the, otherwise silent, hall. She was on her knees in front of the Queen, receiving lashes for clumsiness. While walking over to pour the Queen more wine, she tripped, and sent the bottle spraying all over the Queen. Normally, the guards would have taken the girl out to be punished with five lashes, and no food for three days, as well as demoting her to cleaning bed pans and other nasty things and places. Yet, the Queen did not think that was enough and had decided to lash the girl herself, in front of all the nobles at court, giving the girl well over the standard five lashes. Most nobles stared at their food, some feigned interest, others stared with shock and disgust plainly on their face. Alex stared at his mother, whipping her arm back to lash the girl again, a look of pure fury mixed with something else on her face. Alex was so disgusted that he could only sit and watch the blood spray from the girls back. His mother seemed to be enjoying handing out the punishment. He stared in horror as her arm descended again. Only to be stopped at the last second by his father, who took the blow of the lashing to his arm, protecting the servant girl from it. The Queen looked up at him, surprised her husband would step in and stop her, he had never gone against her before.  
Enough. This has gone on too long. My dear, you are obviously distressed by the princess s capture and our son s depression, and by all of your Queenly duties added to that, but I will no longer tolerate this behavior. It was an accident, one that merited punishment, but not getting beaten within an inch of life as you no doubt intended to do. Go to your chambers, change your dress, I will send your personal maid with a tray, you can finish your meal there. The King said to her, staring her in the eyes, watching the shock and fury cross her face.  
Are you trying to punish me? she asked, in a low, cold voice.  
Yes. He said simply, not understanding why she smiled at him then, but she turned and walked out of the hall and to her chambers, muttering the whole way, too low of words for anyone to understand.

Back in the hall, the King help the servant girl to her feet, sending her with the guards to be brought to a healer, because of the abuse he declared she would not need the normal punishment and instead of being demoted would be reassigned to a new job of equal measure so she didn t lose wages.  
I am sure you all understand, but dinner is now over, please return to your rooms to finish if you would like to, or retire to the gardens, but I wish for no one to remain in here. The King announced, collecting his two sons from their seats and shuffling them off to the sacred gardens.  
Father, where are we going? Christopher asked, wanting to get back to his room to play, no doubt.  
The sacred gardens, Christopher, you seem to not go there often. Why is that? His father asked, just realizing it himself.  
Mother told me not to, and I am busy playing with Jeremy and Joseph. He frowned, just now wondering why his mother told him not to go to the sacred gardens anymore. He hadn t gone in a while.  
Are you still playing with those little boys? Alex asked, clearly disgusted.  
Yes. Why? They are both very beautiful. He said, not realizing what his brother meant.  
They are guys, and children. Why don t you go find yourself a woman to play with? You know that I prefer the boys, and when they are young they are so beautiful and feminine. I love them both, and you also know that what some say goes on does not. I am not having sex with children, I am a child myself. Someday I will find a woman to love, but for now I prefer the looks of the boys, and they are more fun. Christopher didn t know how to defend himself, he truly loved his boys, and he didn t have sex with them, they were much too young for it, but he found that boys his own age weren t feminine looking enough for him, yet women were boring to him, too feminine, too fleshy. He wasn t even sure what was wrong with them.  
Enough you two, their father said, shaking his head at his two boys.

DAMN IT! Where d they go NOW? The queen yelled, smashing her tea cup against the wall.  
I am guessing the sacred gardens, unless wards have been put up on the rooms now also. Tiea said, lounging on the sofa, cleaning her nails.  
The queen spun at Tiea, annoyed at her tone, she was at the sofa in seconds, gripping Tiea s throat and lifting her by it. Tiea s hands flew up to her throat as she struggled to breathe while being choked.  
You will be successful. Or you will be stripped of everything I have given you, and he will be dead. Do you understand me? her voice was low, cold, dark her eyes were demanding and threatened terrible things to Tiea if she did not do as she was told. Tiea stopped trying to struggle, frozen by the eyes that took up all of her vision, the blue eyes, flooded with red. Tiea shivered, reminded again of how she sold her soul to the devil. The queen released her and she fell to the floor gasping, still shivering.  
I expect results. If I do not get them, then it doesn t look too good for you or your prince The queen growled, stepping over Tiea s gasping body and heading for the door. She was out for blood, and that s what she was going to get.

Villages miles away could see the flames lighting up the dark as if the sun was starting to rise, though they were too far away to hear the screams of the unfortunate souls caught in the fires. The kings village was a sea of flames, the fire jumping from roof to roof and starting everything ablaze. It devoured everything in its path like it was a living creature out for revenge. Figures could be seen running from the flames, trying in vain to save their homes, and crying for loved ones trapped in the fires. From a high tower in the castle, the king watched the chaos going on down below in horror. He knew his wife was behind this, though didn t know how he knew, he couldn t explain the feeling.  



End file.
